William B. Jones

Vice President National Retail Sales

Anheuser-Busch, Inc.

“My mentor helped me to focus on the opportunities, not the issues.”

-William B. Jones

INROADS marked the spot for the beginning of this INROADS Alumnus over 25 years ago. Bill began his internship in the marketing group of Anheuser-Busch, where he accepted a full-time offer upon graduation from Washington University in St. Louis, with a BSBA in Accounting.

“My mentor helped me to focus on the opportunities, not the issues,” he states, “to create a career plan, with much higher goals than I would have thought possible, and taught me how to deal with business reality, and be the one that seeks solutions.”

He has earned numerous promotions during his tenure with the Anheuser-Busch Companies. In his current position as Vice-President, National Off-Premise Chain Sales, Bill manages the company’s relationships with the top 40 retail accounts worldwide, including Wal-Mart, 7-Eleven, Safeway and Kroger.

“Bill Jones is a man of great ability with a solid record of success. He is a natural leader who inspires the best in others and is a generous contributor to our community,” said Patrick Stokes, Chairman of the Board, Anheuser-Busch Companies.

As an Alumnus, Bill serves as chairman of the INROADS Midwest Region, and is devoted to several other community service efforts, as well. He is also recipient of the CareerFOCUS Eagle Award, one of the most prestigious leadership awards for African-American and Latino professionals.

Bill feels strongly about the role INROADS plays in his life and states that it helped him to go where he could not have gone, otherwise.

“I truly believe that INROADS is one of the most influential organizations in the country,” states Jones, “It is like church…you get more out of it by being there versus not, even more by volunteering versus just being there, and even more by following the lessons learned everyday of your life.”